Rowena Rabbit

I received a lovely letter this morning.  The picture that came with it actually tells the whole story.

 

Naomi chose the Rowena Rabbit pattern to make a doll for her little girl.  It was her first ever attempt at making a soft toy.  She says the pattern and instructions were easy to work with  and she's happy with the result.  I think the purple Rowena looks stunning.  Most important of all is that her daughter adores the rabbit and has a new treasured friend.  

When I see pictures like this, I'm keenly reminded why I'm a toy designer and maker.  It's not about stuff, it's about creating joy.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/106092413/teddy-bear-rabbit-pdf-sewing-pattern

Project 52 - Miniature Bear Making - #7

Easter Bunnies!

Hold up a fabric animal and ask a five year old what it is.  If the answer is BUNNY! then you can be fairly sure  your animal has long years.  Yep, the shape of an animal's ears is one of its most distinguishing features. 

Bunnies also differ from teddy bears in other small ways.  Modern teddies mostly don't have tails.  A round little button tail on a bunny is almost a must.  Bunnies usually have big feet, and a nice fat tummy to go with it.

I turned Angus' pattern into Apryl the Easter Bunny by making just a few changes to the pattern. 

• The ears are longer.  If you are altering your own pattern, start by making the ears about three times the height of the teddy bear's ears.  Remember there is no rule.  Bunny ears can be long or short, whatever!
• The ears can be stiffened with a chenile stick or florist wire if you want them to stand up.
• For Apryl, I used a 17mm circle as template for the tail.  Gather the circle around the edges, stuff lightly, and ladder stitch to the body.  This must be the easiest way ever to make a tail.
• I like my bunnies to have short noses.  If you alter the side head, you also need to alter the gusset to make sure they fit together.
• Bunnies must have big feet!  I made Apryl's feet almost half as long again as Angus'.  Remember to make the footpad bigger too.
• Just for fun, I made Apryl a fat tummy.  It's probably from eating so many Easter eggs... 
• If you don't enjoy embroidering noses, a bunny will suit your style.  Notice how I made only an outline for Apryl's nose?  When making a bunny, this is good enough.  But of course, if you prefer to embroider the nose, Apryl would look good with that too.

Here's an exploded view of Apryl, with my altered pattern sheet.  If you don't feel adventurous enough to alter Angus' pattern yourself, you will find my altered templates HERE.

In order to have all the pattern pieces to complete Apryl, you will also need the Angus pattern, which you will find in my Etsy Shop, and on the Tin Soldiers Website.

Apryl wants to share a blue speckled egg but Angus says "No, find your own!"  

 

This is my book page for Week 7.  

I made a little envelope to store my altered pattern templates in.

I have made page templates if you would like to copy mine, but it could also be fun to make your own.  Every week, you will find printable templates for Project 52 HERE .

Rowena Rabbit

I just received this colourful picture from Jan in the US.  Easter bunnies for her grand children.  Aren't they great?

The bunnies were made from the Rowena Rabbit pattern, which you will find in my Etsy shop.

Easter Bunny Parade

This week half a dozen completed bunnies from our Easter bunny project came rolling through the studio.  It is lovely to see how everyone interpreted the pattern in their own way.

Hannelie's Rabbit

Tharina's Rabbit

Phillys' Rabbit

Gerda's Rabbit

Annemarie's Rabbit

Rachel's Rabbit

Colourful Week

We had a colourful and productive week in the studio.
I finally sorted out that tangle of embroidery floss, and made some real progress on the bunny.  If he would just stop messing with the floss, I might get a bit more work done!

Chairs for teddy bears and dolls arrived.  They are made by Fred of Cloth Characters, and Nerina made the adorable little matching cushions.  A chair with cushion costs R 50.  The chairs are are about 32cm tall, 15cm from the ground to the seat, and would be suitable for teddies and dolls in many sizes.  Hurry up and order while stocks last!

And this is how far I got with the lizard.  I'm real pleased with my progress.  Now I just need to figure out the legs, and it wants real eye catching eyes...

Bunny on wheels

Since the beginning of the year I have been planning to make a bear on wheels. I had something very traditional and old looking in mind. When I sat down to draw the design this week, it morphed into an Easter bunny! I guess it’s the season… Another thing I seem to have no control over is the amount of clutter I gather around me while I’m working. In the picture attached you can see the story of my week; little porcelain dolls that arrived in the mail, baby bird donated by my sister, some tiny bears commissioned by a collector (I’m going to finish them some time soon!), embroidery floss I’m going to get around to untangling some time… and in the middle of it all the plan for bunny-on-wheels. You can also see the smaller prototype made out of chocolate coloured velvet. When I’m working on a new design I like to make up a smaller sample in short pile fur to check the proportions and fit of the pattern pieces. Apart from being a bit heavy in the seat, this bunny is doing fine. I will start putting the mohair sample together over the weekend.